Fall of the Tomb Raider
by misanthropellc
Summary: After her experience in Peru, Lara begins making strides to mend her name's tattered reputation, and reinvent herself as a true archaeologist. However, after her first dig in Africa is attacked by a band of marauders, she is drawn into a darker, bloodier world than she has ever known. Rated M for just about everything you can imagine.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This should go without saying considering where it's being hosted, but I own nothing about this story, with the exception of what OC there is. This story is also written with mature audiences in mind. There will be violence. There will be language. There will be drugs, and more.

 _"Soo toos! Soo toos!"_

Lara groaned as she opened her eyes. _"The fuck...?"_ she thought to herself. She hurt all over, but the back of her head especially was throbbing, and her wrists stung with rope burn.

 _"Soo toos! Qaadi ilaah!"_

Between the shouts of...whoever that was, Lara could hear other voices and languages. She began putting two and two together. The last thing she could remember was-

 _"Waxaan idhi adiga oo toosiya qashin cad!"_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a swift kick to the ribs. Lara gasped and doubled over in pain. She was definitely awake now. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the sun, but it did nothing to abate her confusion; in fact, it reinforced it with panic. Surrounding her were others - mostly women and young girls. All of them hand their hands tied, and all of them were terrified. Walking amongst them were men carrying an assortment of weapons, ranging from MP5 submachine guns to AK-47s, and shouting in Somali.

 _"Shit..."_ she whispered to herself. With some effort, she managed to sit up. She was in no position to go against their wishes. Still, she needed a plan of escape; it's not like she had anything else to do.

 _"Bilaw inaad gawaarida ku geliso,"_ one of the men ordered. _"Haddii mid ka mid ah ay isku dayaan inay ku siiyaan dhibaato, soo tuur. Kama daryeelo."_

Lara wasn't intimately familiar with the language, but she understood the tone, and she understood gestures. The men were being ordered to kill them if they tried to resist - she was sure of it.

The men began coralling the other captives, peeling mothers from daughters and sisters from sisters, and forcing them into canopied truck beds. Each truck was joined by two men, both with guns at the ready. Lara looked on, unable to look away, but wishing she could.

 _"Aamiina!"_ one of the other women cried as her daughter - or a girl Lara assumed to be her daughter - was taken from her. _"Waan ku raacayaa!"_ The woman hopped to her feet and ran toward the truck, only to be gunned down mid stride. The sound of gunfire echoed, and gave way to the horrified shrieks of the other captives. One in particular - Aamiina, if Lara had to guess - lept from the truck in an attempt to run to her mother's side. Rather than shoot her, the men forced her back on the truck. As it departed, she could still hear the girl's cries.

One by one, the women were loaded into trucks and taken away. After the incident, none made an attempt to run. The poor woman's corpse was left in the middle of the clearing; Lara couldn't help but stare. All she could think about was that girl. A part of her hoped that she'd be alright, but she knew that this was wishful thinking. There was nothing good in store for any of them.

 _"Kaafiyo!"_ a voice rang out. Lara looked in the direction it came from, noting a few of the men approaching her. Moments later, she was surrounded. _"Maxaa ku saabsan mid cad?"_

The man knelt; he was tall enough that he still had to look down on her. _"Aniga i fiiri,"_ he demanded. Lara refused to make eye contact. _"Waxaan is-idhi si aad iigu eegto aniga, qashin!"_ He grabbed her by the chin and wrenched her head around. _"Miyaad adagtahay dhagaha?"_ Lara could do nothing but scowl.

 _"Waa caddaan, Hakim. Waxay u badan tahay inay ku hadlaan Ingiriis kaliya."_ Lara darted her eyes to the left. The leader - Kaafiyo, was it? - approached, and the other men stepped back. He stood over Lara, and stared at her.

"Is that right?" he said. Lara's eyes widened. "Look at me," he demanded. Lara complied; there were too many guns around her for her not to. Kaafiyo knelt, just as the other man did. "You gave us a lot of trouble, you know that?" The two stared at each other before Kaafiyo chuckled. "I'm impressed. If these fools had your skill, I could conquer all of Africa." He lightly slapped Lara's cheek; it took every ounce of willpower for Lara not to spit in his face.

 _"Soo qaado iyada,"_ Kaafiyo ordered, _"anagu waxaan fureynaa midaan."_

Two of the men grabbed Lara under the shoulders and forced her to her feet. The nudge of a gun's barrel in her back was more than enough to get her to walk. She didn't like not being in control, but as long as she obeyed, she figured she'd at least stay alive. Hopefully. Before they threw her in the back of the one of the last trucks, Kaafiyo stopped them.

"My apologies." Lara raised an eyebrow at him. What would he be apologizing for? That question was answered when Kaafiyo brought his fist across her face. Lara screamed in both shock and pain; she could taste the blood in her mouth. More blood tricked from her nose. She stared Kaafiyo in the eyes; Kaafiyo merely shrugged.

"If we're going to ransom you off, you need to look the part." He winked at her. "We can get more out of you that way. Faster, too."

 _Hakim, Xaayow, kula soco dhabarka,"_ Kaafiyo ordered. The two followed his command without question, covering her with a burlap hood and unceremoniously throwing Lara in the bed of the truck. Kaafiyo climbed in on the passenger side, and the other men climbed in to the remaining vehicles. Before they left, Kaafiyo opened the back glass. _"Ha ku dhicin in aad ku dhufatid iyada, ma dareemayo waxa ay qabato."_

Beneath her hood, Lara remained silent. She had nothing: no weapons, no radio...nothing. Survival seemed like a far off dream. All she could do was wait, and maybe count the bumps to pass the time. She recalled Yamatai, and the words of Roth: _just keep moving._

After all, did she really have a choice?


	2. Chapter 2

The noon sun shined overhead, bathing the dig site with burning light. Most of the day's work consisted of trying to regain lost ground; the sudden storm from the day before had caused the loose sand and dirt to accumulate at the base of the ruin. It was also responsible for the humidity that made being outside almost unbearable. Even so, spirits were high, and the young archaeologists were excited about the excavation.

 _"How's the dig going out there?"_ Jonah asked. Lara sighed and looked out over the site, shielding her eyes from the harsh sun. "It's going well, actually," she replied, "we had a storm come through yesterday - made a right mess of things. The others and I have been up since before sunrise clearing out the mud." Lara could hear a woman's voice on the other end of the sat phone. _"Are you and Abby back together?"_

Jonah chuckled, and sighed. _"Yeah, we managed to work through it. I'm still pretty sure she's hormonal."_

"Ah, right. I forgot she was pregnant," Lara said. "How far along is she now?"

 _"Four months? Four and a half months?"_ Jonah's voice grew dim, though Lara could hear him ask how long it had been. _"Eleven weeks."_ He paused for a moment as Abby's voice floated through the speaker. _"Abby says hi-"_ Jonah began, only to be interrupted by Abby again. _"And she demands that you come to Texas before it's born."_

Lara laughed and nodded - not that Jonah could see. "If I say yes, will she let you come out here? It's not the same without you around."

Jonah laughed in turn. _"You'd have to ask her yourself."_

"So that's a no?"

 _"It's an indefinite maybe."_

Lara let out an exaggerated sigh. She wasn't lying; not having Jonah around all the time had taken some getting used to. She was accustomed to only talking to him over the phone, but it wasn't the same. Behind her, Lara could hear her name called. It seemed her call was being cut short.

"Alright Jonah," she said.

"Gotta run, eh?" He knew exactly what she meant. _"I'll let you go then. Stay out of trouble for me, yeah?"_

"Of course."

 _"No, no. I want to hear you say it."_

Lara sighed. "Fine: Jonah, I will stay out of trouble." The pair laughed.

 _"Glad to hear it. Stay safe, bird."_

Lara ended the call and clipped the sat phone on her belt. She could have sworn she heard Abby yelling something on the other end; she was probably saying goodbye. "Oh, I miss those two," she thought to herself as she started walking back toward the lunch tent. As she got closer, two small children - locals from a nearby village - ran to greet her. One of them carried a bottle of water, and gave it to her as a sort of gift. Of course, Lara accepted it, and as a show of thanks, gave the little ones a Jaffa Cake each before sending them on their way.

She chose this site because of that village, and worked alongside humanitarian organizations to supply it with aid. The village children had a keen interest in the excavation, and often came to watch; some even tried to help. A few of the other archaeologists urged her to turn them away, but Lara developed a soft spot for them. Now, they were a common sight. Many adults had also volunteered to help; Lara made sure that they were paid for their work.

 _"Dr. Croft!"_ Lara winced. She wasn't especially fond of the title; it was wholly inaccurate. "Lara is fine, Mackenzie," she replied as she approached the students.

"Right! Right, Lara. I'm sorry!" Mackenzie covered her face. She knew that Lara didn't like titles, but it was a difficult habit to break. Back at UCL, half of her instructors would drop her from their classes if she spoke to them so informally.

Lara chuckled. "You're fine. What do you need?"

"Oh, um..." The girl stammered. Mackenzie was a bright student, but confidence wasn't something she had in abundance. She reminded Lara a lot of herself at her age, and though Lara would never say anything, she knew that Mackenzie looked up to her. "I was talking to Joseph a minute ago - you know, Joseph, with the crooked nose?"

Lara raised an eyebrow at her. She knew which man she was talking about; Joseph was one the locals, well liked in both his community and among the team. Moreover, he was one of the few who could speak English, and acted as an interpretor. Still, she found it rude that Mackenzie would choose that description. Lara smiled and nodded.

"I know the name. What'd he say?"

"He was telling me that the village was celebrating the _hooyo's_ birthday tonight. They were gonna have a feast and some kind of dance."

Lara nodded. She had never met the _hooyo -_ "mother" in Somali. She didn't have any real power in the village, but she'd helped to raise just about everyone; the village, in turn, viewed her as the community's shared grandmother. "And I'm guessing you were wanting to go?"

"Oh...yeah, actually," Mackenzie replied. She almost sounded as if she were taken aback. "I figured since we were leaving tomorrow-"

 _Shit,_ Lara thought to herself. She's completely forgotten that this was their last night. Tomorrow, they'd leave for Aden Adde International in Mogadishu. Had it really been a month already? Lara sighed, aggravated at herself.

"Sure, that would be fine. But we're all going. I don't want any of you left up here alone." She checked her watch. "When is it supposed to start?"

Mackenzie shrugged. "He didn't say when exactly, only that it'd be after sundown."

"Alright, that gives us about six hours. Do you think we can get the rest of that mud cleared before then?" The students nodded, giving her their word. It felt out of place for Lara to be in charge. Perhaps she'd get used to it? "Good. Once you're finished, get your boots back on. I want all of you down there in fifteen minutes."


	3. Chapter 3

Lara had lost track of how long she'd been tied to that pole. The sheet of aluminium above her provided shielding from the sun for a part of the day, at the cost of raising the temperature beneath it to sweltering levels. The night brought some reprieve, but it was fleeting.

She awoke abruptly to the sound of gunfire mere feet from where she sat. This wasn't entirely out of the ordinary, but it wasn't necessarily something she'd gotten used to. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light. Standing in front of her was one of Kaafiyo's men - a young, shirtless boy, no older than fourteen if she had to guess. The two locked eyes; Lara was taken aback by them. She could tell that he'd seen more than any boy his age should have. What's worse is that he was by no means the youngest soldier under Kaafiyo's command.

After a few moments, he looked down toward her feet. Lara's eyes followed. Inches away from her was the headless corpse of a mottled brown snake - an adder, by the looks of it. Delirious from heat, hunger, and thirst, it finally dawned on her that the boy had saved her life. If that snake at bitten her...

She shook the thought from her mind. It wasn't that she was perturbed at the idea of dying. What disturbed her more was that she wouldn't have minded.

"Thank you," she finally muttered, looking back up at the boy. He simply nodded, and departed without saying a word - but not before taking what was left of the adder with him. Lara was left alone once more.

As the hours passed, Lara sat motionless. The sun continued to beat down on her, worsening her already severe sunburn. Behind her, she could hear the "men" hard at work on...something. Occasionally a convoy of trucks would arrive, all carrying more prisoners. God only knew what they did to them, but the screams gave her an idea. She wondered why they never bothered to do to her what they had done to the other women. The guilt was enough to make her stomach turn.

 _"Adiga,"_ a voice whispered. To Lara's surprise, it was the boy who saved her earlier in the day. Were it anyone else, Lara would have been in fear for her life. This boy, though...he wasn't a killer. At least, she didn't feel like he was. He knelt beside her, opening his canteen and helping her drink. It didn't take long for her to empty it. It tasted terrible, but at that moment, it was the best water she'd ever had.

"God, I needed that." she sighed, leaning back on the pole. "You wouldn't happen to have food you're willing to share, would you?"

"No," he said curtly, "but I can get some." His accent was thick, but if a single sentence was any indication, his English was surprisingly good. Lara was quick to point out this fact.

"Where did you learn English?" she asked. While she was thankful to actually talk to someone who could understand her, she feared the implications. It was unlikely that he learned a second language while living under the thumb of Kaafiyo.

The boy shifted, sitting beside her. "I lived in an orphanage run by Americans for many years. I learned by listening to them and reading their books."

"So...how did you end up here?"

He sighed and looked at the ground. "Kaafiyo came. He burned it down and killed many of them - even the Americans. They said they would kill me, too, but they handed me a gun instead." His voice cracked as he recounted what happened. All Lara could do was nod.

"That's awful," she said. She felt for the boy, but a small part of her resented him for what had transpired days earlier.

 _No,_ she thought. _He's just a kid._ She also thought about asking him why he didn't just leave, but she knew that would be a stupid thing to ask. They were in the middle of the savannah; he had nowhere to go. This dawning helped to reinforce how completely fucked she was at the current moment.

"What's your name?" Lara finally asked.

"Absame," the boy replied. Lara nodded in leiu of shaking his hand.

An hour or two passed, and the pair continued to converse. Lara was impressed by Absame's intellect; he seemed by and large more educated than the others, or at the very least, learned quickly from the world around him. She warmed up to him rather quickly, all things considered. Perhaps he could help her-

 _"Absame!"_ another voice echoed from somewhere to the right. Lara darted her eyes toward the voice, immediately noting someone approaching with a flashlight. _Fuck me,_ she thought to herself.

 _"Waa maxay fuckka aad ku sameysid qashinka?"_ Absame's eyes grew wide. In that moment, Lara realized that he might be more fucked than she was. Absame placed his gun in the sand and stood slowly, his hands raised. Fear shone in his eyes more brightly than the light shining directly at them.

 _"Anigu biyo ayaan siinayaa oo kaliya!"_ Absame yelled in response. His voice was cracking, and he was beginning to stutter. As the man with the flashlight approached, Lara could begin to make out his sillohuette. The warrior was armed, and his rifle was trained on Absame. _"Way dhimatay, waan ku dhaaranayaa!"_

 _"Ma doonayo inaan maqlo, wiil!"_ he shouted, now close enough to jab Absame in the chest with the barrel of his gun. Absame fell to the ground. _"Haddii uu Kaafiyo ku arko halkan, waxaad ku dhimi lahayd naftaada!"_

The man - whoever he was - still had his rifle trained on Absame. However, Lara made note of something: he didn't have a strap. What's more, with how she was sitting, his feet were just in range...

Without thinking, Lara acted, kicking the man in the knee with one foot, and taking his other leg out from under him. She could hear the joint dislocating; hell, she could feel it, too. The man collapsed with a pained shriek, landing on top of her legs. Moments later, they were wrapped around his throat. Lara squeezed with every ounce of strength she could muster as the warrior tried in vain to free himself.

Absame watched with bated breath as life slowly slipped from the man. He wasn't sure who he was more frightened of. The other men had talked about how Lara had killed many of their own during the raid, but he wasn't there, and found it hard to swallow. Not anymore.

After what felt like an eternity, the man slowly stopped struggling and stopped breathing entirely. Lara loosened her hold on his throat, and once she was confident that he wasn't getting up, pushed his lifeless body away. That burst of energy was just about all she had in her, but she knew that she had to escape as soon as possible. It wouldn't be long until others came looking.

"Absame," she whispered, darting her eyes to the boy. "Absame, we have to move. Cut this rope, quickly!" The boy did as he was told, retrieving a knife from the other man's belt, and removing Lara's bindings. She stood for the first time in nearly a week.

"Give me the knife," she ordered. Absame seemed hesitant; Lara didn't have time for hesitant. "Absame," she repeated, this time a little more angrily, "give me the fucking knife."

Absame looked at her, then at the man. The last thing he wanted was to end up in the same predicament, and handed the knife over. Lara hobbled to the man she'd just strangled, and kicked him over. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not, but she didn't care. Kneeling beside him, she placed her hand over his mouth and plunged the knife through his throat.

The man's eyes opened, and he gazed up at the figure standing over him. The last thing he saw was Lara's face staring down at him as he bled out.


End file.
